Mailpile is a new open source email service focused on user privacy

As regular users of the Internet, we all expect to have a high level of privacy, so no one should know we signed up for some of the most disgusting pornography websites known to man nor should unauthorized personnels know the contents of our emails. To help fight against those who would want to spy on us, a little company called Mailpile is working on an open source email project of the same name.

Mailpile is designed from the ground up with privacy in mind and also to run on your computer. This means every content is stored on your computer, so you’ll have full control over who gets to read your mails. The encryption methods supported so far, are S/MIME and OpenPGP, and better yet, advertisements are a thing of the past with Mailpile. The idea here is to make money via user contribution, which is doable since many open source developers only make cash in this manner.

Well, at least that is in theory anyway. As of now, Mailpile is looking for funding and its Indiegogo campaign has surpassed its $100,000 target with only 20 days left. We wouldn’t be surprised to see it doubled before the campaign comes to an end in September.

About Vamien McKalin

Huge fan of Microsoft products, gamer, and an aspiring amateur photographer who wishes one day to get his hands on a Nokia lumia 1020. I also have super powers, you know, walking on water and all that.

[@J.L.] This wouldn’t stop the government. They are catching all the emails they can, not just the ones going through a single service. Also Google scans the emails for different reasons, marketing and tracking. The government scans emails to find Terrorists, in theory at least. Given recent scandals you can’t be sure of that.

My personal opinion is that the government is perverting the intent of the law, while obeying the letter of it. Electronic communication does not have the legal protections that other forms do. That worries me. I’m not concerned so much by the fact they are looking at this, as by the fact they are doing so without the safeguards our law provides. When any group, person, etc puts themselves above the law, that’s scary.

J.L.

[@Mikerman] People are still more worried about Google than the government. Which is why one of them is so unregulated.